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New storm adds more trouble to New York recovering from Sandy

08 November 2012 22:52 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Gusting winds, rain and snow from Wednesday’s northeaster has disrupted traffic and cut power supply in New York and New Jersey, which are still recovering from Superstorm Sandy, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the biggest concern for the city was for low-lying areas in Zone A, where trees were weakened by Sandy and sand that would have acted as a barrier was washed away.

Police in those areas made announcements to ensure elderly or homebound residents and those with infants have a safe place to go, but evacuations were not mandatory.

By early Thursday, more than 292,700 homes and business in New York state were without power, and another 403,000 in New Jersey lacked electricity, according to local media reports.

The Long Island Rail Road was suspended during the storm and but has resumed by Thursday.

Under ordinary circumstances, a storm of this sort wouldn’t be a big deal. But large parts of the landscape were still an open wound, with the electrical system highly fragile and many of Sandy ’s victims suffering from the deepening cold.

A resident named Juliet, who lived in Bergen County in New Jersey, one of the hardest-hit areas by Sandy, told Xinhua that her family will continue to live in a house with its roof missing. "The new storm slows the region’s pace to revive its infrastructure," she said, "But things are not worse, and for that I am thankful."

Ahead of the storm, public works crews in New Jersey built up dunes to protect the stripped and battered coast, and new evacuations were ordered in a number of communities already emptied by Sandy. New shelters opened.

All construction in New York City was halted, and parks were closed because of the danger of falling trees.

At least 1,300 U.S. flights were canceled in and out of the New York metropolitan area, causing a new round of disruptions that rippled across the country.

Sandy killed more than 100 people in 10 states, with most of the victims in New York and New Jersey. Long lines persisted at gas stations though shorter than they were days ago.